1st-Temple-Period Seal Discovered near Western Wall

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced, Tuesday that a seal bearing the name Metanyahu ben Ho (the rest was rubbed out) from the period of the First Temple, was found in the remains of a drainage channel near the Robinson Arch at the southern end of the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. The seal was made out of a semi-precious stone.

Eli Shukrun, the IAA's manager of the dig, said the name Metanyahu (gift from/to G-d) was fashionable for the kingdom of Judea between 800 BCE and the destruction of the First Temple. He added that finding a seal from that period was rare and thrilling.